Alaska Airlines has plans today to fuel its commercial flight from Seattle, Washington to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport outside of Washington, DC with Gevo’s biojet fuel. The alcohol to jet fuel (ATJ) is produced through the conversion of cellulosic sugars derived from wood waste into renewable isobutanol and then into ATJ. The renewable fuel meets all ASTM D7566 standards for use in commercial flights.

The ATJ was produced in partnership with the Northwest Advanced Renewables Alliance (NARA) who supplied the sugars, and then the isobutanol was produced at its facility in St. Joseph, Missouri. From there the fuel headed to Silsbee, Texas where is was converted into ATJ.

“This first of its kind flight demonstrates Gevo’s commitment and ability to convert next generation cellulosic feedstocks into fungible hydrocarbons,” said Pat Gruber, Gevo’s CEO. We are pleased that we had the opportunity to prove, through the NARA project, that cellulosic sugars from wood can be used to successfully make commercial jet fuel. We congratulate all of our fellow NARA partners and thank the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, for its unwavering support in the pursuit of renewable jet fuel. I also thank Alaska Airlines, who continues to be a great partner.”

Today’s flight follows on the back of the two commercial flights that were flown by Alaska Airlines on Gevo’s ATJ in June of this year. The ATJ for the June flights was derived from isobutanol produced at the Gevo’s facility in Luverne, MN, using sustainable corn as the sugar feedstock.